A new year, a new to-do list. Whatever your goals are for 2022 it’s time to make them happen with some strategic planning and day by day approach.

Whether you are launching your own business, planning to grow your family or buying a home, you can make it happen with SMART goal planning.

For those who have been gaping in stunned awe at the property prices in 2021, wondering how you are ever going to afford a home of your own; this is your year.

2020 and 2021 were a crazy mix to create a perfect storm of property sales.

• Lowest ever interest rates
• Flexible working from home arrangements
• Big money saved through not going out, cooking at home, no commutes and less social drinking
• A strong desire to get out of Covid hot spots 

That meant more people had the ability to and desire to buy a new property than ever before.

Maybe you got muscled out of the market in all the uproar. Not to worry, the property market is still there and people are still going to be listing their homes. There are plenty more purchasing opportunities to come. 

So what do you need to do to take the dream of home ownership and make it real?

The answer is: strategy and taking action (small ones) each and every day.

An ineffective goal really comes down to poor planning rather than lack of desire. Knowing that means we can get ahead of the 92% of people who don’t see their New Year’s resolution through.

A solid, realistic plan is all you need to make your goals stick.

No matter what your current situation is, transforming yourself into the person who eats less sugar, walks the dogs every day or saves money for a home deposit is as easy as being SMART.

If owning your own home is one of your near future goals, then now is the perfect time to get into action and get some goals and plans in place that will see you packing boxes and moving in no time.

Your 2022 goal to save a deposit to own your own home.

Owning your own home is part of the Australian dream, but you need to know specifically how that dream applies to you. What specifically are you looking for, how much can you spend and what are your critical must have home features?

Why do you want to own your own home?

Write a list of all the reasons for being a homeowner and all the benefits you will receive when you reach your goal. This is only for you to say, so forget any reasons that come from other people, this is your money and your purchase so it needs to come from you (and your partner) and nothing else.

It’s a big purchase so make sure your list is a long one by really working it over and getting yourself as positive and motivated as possible. Include tangibles, like ensuite bathroom, lock up garage, easy to maintain garden  as well as intangibles, which are your emotional buying reasons, like safety, security, certainty and personal identity.

What will you have to give up to get it?

Next, write a list of all the things you will need to sacrifice in order to own your own home.

Let’s be honest, this is going to take some work and expense, not just for the purchase itself but the mortgage repayments for the length of your loan. Most people don’t address the sacrifices they need to make or reconcile these before they start saving. Knowing ahead of time what it’s going to cost can really help you stick it out because you’ve looked it over carefully, a bit like a contract, before you commit and you still say, ‘Yes, give it to me!’.

Sacrifices might include skipping drinks with friends or even cutting out having drinks at home, waiting for DVD rather than going to the cinema, taking a packed lunch to work instead of going to a café or sticking to instant coffee in the office kitchen rather than your morning trip to the barista. You and your partner might agree to no presents for birthdays and Christmas, no vacations, and definitely no overseas trips.

What are the costs really?

You need to have enough money aside to cover everything for your home purchase, which includes real estate fees, your conveyancer and paperwork costs. The first home buyers incentive can really help out if you qualify, however, some costs can’t be skipped so look into it ahead of time and plan these additional costs into your budget.

Once you are committed and ready to get started you can put a plan in place with a SMART goal. A goal is really a wish with details, the more details you have the more solid your goal will be and the clearer you are going to get on your outcome.

The acronym for a great goal plan is SMART and it works, as long as you are truly smart about it. So let’s walk through the points you are going to be locking down in your goal to save your deposit for your home.

S is for Specific.

The more specific you get about what you want, (when you want it, and how you are going to get it), the easier it is to prioritise and get on track. “Saving money” isn’t specific enough, really know what you are saving for and what the end result will be. i.e. “Save a 20% ($120,000) deposit on a big home in Albury that has tree views”.

M is for Measurable.

You need to measure not just your goal but the steps you are taking to get there. That way you know month-to-month or even week-to-week if you are on track or if you need to change gears. Once you know what your goal is you can get a measure for milestones as well as the end result.

If you know that you need to save $120,000 to secure the home you really want, then you could get the amount over four years by saving $580 a week.

How much you can realistically save will help determine how long you need to put savings away for. You might be able to move faster than that and save enough in three years, you might need to take more time and save for longer to buy.

As well as the final goal: Save $120,000 by December 2025 

You have your mini goal : $580 a week 

And your milestones to check in on:

• December 2022 = $30,000 

• December 2023 = $60,000 

• December 2024 = $90,000 

You can break your milestones to measure down in any way you want, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly.

If you don’t manage to save $580 in a week you can look at saving extra over the following weeks to make up the difference.

If you find that the amount you set for yourself is difficult to reach, adjust your time frames to find something that will work.

Looking after your finances to meet your goal is a great way to practice for repaying a mortgage. 

A is for Achievable.

Now that you have your measure, you know if you can get there. Breaking your goal down should give you an amount you can reach consistently each week, fortnight or month to reach your goal. Taking a look at these milestones will let you know if you can achieve this amount. 

Knowing how much you need to save helps you choose how you will get there. Do you need to move into a cheaper rental or stay with relatives to help you save?

If not you might need to look at other options to help get into your home faster by reducing the property amount. Can you live with two bedrooms for a while? Perhaps you need to look at buying property in a slightly cheaper suburb.

Make sure your goal is neither too easy or too difficult, both extremes will quickly discourage you from staying on track.

R is for Relevant.

Is this the right goal for you? Are you buying what you want where you want it? The goal you are striving for needs to be relevant to you, your place in time and your situation. Buying because it’s what your friends are doing, what your family wants or because the market seems ripe, can lead to a mess of problems. You may find it hard to save money if you are not connected to your goal, experience buyers remorse or be forced to sell soon after buying if your work or lifestyle calls you someplace else, meaning you risk losing money on your purchase.

T is for Timely.

Your goal needs time restrictions or you will be tempted to put it off til tomorrow (every day). Make sure the time frame you pick to complete your goal is achievable. In the scenario here we choose a timeframe of four-years. What is the best time frame and end date for you?

Now you have everything you need to turn your dreams into reality, all you need to do is follow the directions and be SMART.